FIRE AT WYALONO. An alarm of fire was raised afc Wya lorig, on 7th last., by the night watchman. The outbreak occurred at th* Miners' Rest Hotel, at the extrema western end of main street. The building, stock, and contents were entirely destroyed, the landlord narrowly escaping being burned to^daath, Several small dwelliDg-houses adjoining were, with their contents, des troyed. Mr. Watson and hia wife lost their all, and escaped in their night dresses, and Mrs. Bowes a^o lost nearly everything. A large crowd soon collected, and by judiciously pulling down several buildings the course of the conflagration was arrested. The little breeza that pre vailed fortunately blew the sparks to the north-west, the only quarter where no building stood. The hotel, which is the property of Mr. Gregson, was, with its contents, insured in the Atlas office for £440. None of the others were insured.

STRANGE ACCIDENT. A peculiar accident is reported by a Manawatu (N\Z) paper. The son of Mr. G. N. Mtsdhki, after watching gome shearers blowing a needle through a bamboo tube at some object on the wall, tried to emulate his elders. In drawing in hia breath the needle (of the darning species, and about three inches in lensth) was immediately sucked down the 'throat into the windpipe, and to all intents and purposes was swallowed, for no incon venience has since been experienced to the respiratory organs, and there has been no suffering whatever. Dr. Skermaa was called in, and is of opinion that should two or three days elapse without any symptoms manifesting themselves there will be no cause for any future treatment, the lad being apparently healthy and strong at the present time.

LAND SELECTION. A large number of selections were made in various parts of the colony on 9th ult. At Oampbelltown 11 homestead selections were applied for, at Murrurundi fq.nr, 9$ T.eRt.er^Jd' 3,0, at Wo.^a Wfl||* iburfat; Young one, at Coplamundra four, at Windsor three, and ab Dehiliquin 13. The total area selected in the 55honie stead selections mentioned was 11,754 acres. One settlement lease was taken up at Brewarrina, one at Grenfell, and two at Narrabri, the total area so selected being 13,912 acres. There are five other places from which advices have not yet been received. The total transactions of the day under homestead selection and settlement leases represent 59 holdings with an area of 25,667 acres, 477.5 acres were conditionally purchased. Up to the present time the area applied for under the Homestead Selection and Settlement Lpase Provision of the Crown Lands Acb of 1895 is 329,063 acres, comprised in 384 holdings.

THE STORYTELLER, ' THE QUEEM OP THE SOHTHi CHAPTEiR XXVIIL (Continued ) Fitzhauton road wa? easily found. Ifc was one of the most fashionable and modern of that artistic district. The villa' itself fully answered Sarah Hopkin's fine descrip tion. It was built in the Italian style, and was a model of elegant and convenient architecture, had it remained in its native climate, with a burning sun to exo'ude in every direction. As it was, the inmates must occasionally have found it a little too shady, and the stately marble gallery before the house', must, in winter, have been deadly cold for a promenade. It seemed large enough for the reception of a very numerous family, and certainly the widow must either have contemplated a speedy increase to her own, or a much wider circle of acquaintance than she seemed to enjoy when she took it. There was an extensive lawn in front of the villa, surrounded by a richly-cultivated garden ground, a shrubbery, and some stately trees that agreeably secl...

SYDNEY WOOL SALES. Wednefday. January 8. The Sydney Wool-selling Brokers' As sociation report that saleB were resumed at the Wool Exchange, Macquarie place, on Monday, a r 6th inst., and continued on the succeeding days as usual. The catalogue included a very la^ge number of small clips, a considerable proportion of which waB from the later shearing districts. The bulk of the snpply consisted of medium to inferior sorts of merino fleece, but a few superior samples, chitliy from the New England district, were also catalogued. For the latter competi tion waa very keen, and prices were firm at about the level of last year's closing rates. Medium and inferior descriptions opened very weak in tone, but after the first day's sales rapidly improved until the level of values exist ing at the time of our last report was again reached. Scoured wools, of which fair assort ments were offered, particularly when of medium to inferior quality, were leBS keenly competed for than greasy, and though ...

MURDER AT COOLGARDIE. At daylight on Friday morning Oalleutu Ma« . hornet shot Tngh Mahomet while the latter waa at prayera at iho Afghan camp. Taeh Mahomet! was a member of the fi- m of Faiz and Tagh Mahomet, tho pioneer enmel men of West Aua« tral'a, and was very popular on. the fisld. De« ceased, who was 46 years of age, waa noted tot his liberality to tho hospital and other charitably institutions, and tho reason for tha erica 0 it) unknown. It iaauppQ'ed, however^ to bo tty} outcome of eam,o qW $u»r;\4, ^

RUTHERGLEN AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. The annual moeting of the Kuthorglen and --*► District Horticultural Snoietv was held laBt week, when the following offim- bearers were elected for the enduing yeav : — President, Mr. Chas. O'Grady ; vice-presldente, Messrs. L E, Rjseubloom, R Turner, and T. II. Rsady ; treasurer, Mr. E J. Bnzza ; secretary, Mr. A. H. Thompson. The balanca sheet snowed n, small profit on last year's transactions. Tha date of thia vear's show was fixod for Wcdnes* day, 19, h February, and a committee waa appointed to draw up a prz i-list togethor ,'? with a programme of Brortfl. Ai the grapa harvest will at that time be in full swing, the ehow will doubtless prove a very attractive one. ? . .

BRITISH AMD FOREIGN. ' ' - The absolutely moat valuable stamp in the world, gays a philatelist, i9 the one ' - cent magenta stamp of British G-uiana dated 1850. There ia only one copy in , - ? existence, and it will cost you £1000 if you are demented enough to desire to '' purchase it. '.}' \-'~ It is interesting just now to recall the ? . - ' fact that Mr. W. E. H. Lecky was never ^--'V: io his young days expected to enrich our -',.'. iistjrical litera'ure. His remarkable -; '' , -promise as an orator caused him to be P'. looked on by his fellow- students at ' - - Trinity College,. Dublin, as a future poli ? - '» 'tician. ?*,''' A report cornea from Romans, in the ♦department of the Drome, to the effect r , , -that a horrible murder, attended by 'frightful mutilation of the corpse, has 'just been brought to Tght there by the (discovery of the body of an unknown i' ' ' .'woman in the Parmane Wood. The corpse, ^ ' - *which had beon much mutilated, presen ted a sickening appearance. A...

OMEO GOLDHELD. 1 The gold yield for. the Omoo division f-r the quarter ending Dec amber last ifc 7l94oz., of which 45l5oz. came from the Glen Wills field. This. is the greatest production yet recorded here. The total yield for the year ia 19,73Soa , as agamst 18»894.o?i, on the year's {jrodugftoo \a '

NEWS IN BRIEF. NEW SOUTH WALES. De Courcy Browne, formerly a member of the N.S.W. Parliament, is said to have a chance of being returned for Coolgardie at the next elections in Westralia. The body of Harry M'Intyre, a well known resident of Kimma (Q ), has been found in a billabong of the Diamantina, with the throat cut and an open razor lyiDg close by. Misses Nisbett and Kingsmill, who are leaving Hobart to join the China missions, were bidden an affectionate farewell by the Young Women's Christian Associa tion on Monday. Gruesome accounts are to band from some of the Wilcannia stations that there is hardly any feed, and stock are perishing for want of nourishment. Rabbits are . dying in thousands. The Taviuni has arrived- from the islands, and reports that at Samoa on Christmas Day an earthquake was felt, the most severe yet experienced in the memory of the residents there. The youngest and most successful Aus tralian actor manager is Mr. Alf. Woods, of Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydn...